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Thursday, June 24, 2010

The second installment of Dedicated Ears presents at the Chopin Theatre featured some hiccups, but isn't that what happens at concerts? All three acts brought something different and were all at ease on the stage. There were some sound issues, and the fix to those is already in. I am still learning the ropes as far as the equipment that each band will require. It is fun though, and I love to learn new things. All the while I got to listen to great music and play music featured on this blog. Once again I was able to speak to music fans like Aaaron Hui, who has been to both shows. My friend featured prominently again. Brian Fitzgerald with another great poster. August and Kevin helped promote. I was also able to use the venues camera to capture music from all three acts which will be below here. Thanks again go out to Lela and Zygmunt and the grand old lady, The Chopin, which keeps getting rave reviews as a unique place to see and perform a concert. Thanks again to all three bands and to the crowd of vocal concertgoers who made the night a blast. Thanks to Aly who covered the show for her great blog Streets Of Wicker.

Next up The Black Atlantic from the Netherlands perform The Chopin on July 18th. This is the last leg of their US tour and it may be a few years before you get a chance to see this breathtaking band.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://theson.bandcamp.com/album/radar"&amp;amp;gt;Dogs, Boys &amp;amp;amp;amp; Men by The Son(s)&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

Check out this FREE download from Sons. I did a review of their Soundcloud demos a while back. Now they are close to finishing their album. There are some beautiful harmonies on here. From Britian the Sons are a must for fans of folk and singer-songwriter music.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Chicago band Dastardly, who have folk and bluegrass leanings have released a new video. Thanks to Gabe from the band who sent me this new video. The band has a new album coming out soon as well. Look for a show announcement in the future for Dastardly to perform at The Chopin Theatre in August.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Chicago band Jonny Rumble's new album JR is available now as a FREE download on the Rock Proper , Chicago based net-label. JR is a mix of blues based rock and indie rock that pulls from The Police, The Beatles and The Talking Heads. I highly suggest you download it and check out the other albums that Rock Proper has to offer. (I have Notes & Scratches,Jitney, and Jay Bennett)

Right out of the box, track #1 "Cox Road" has a nice swing to it and features a infectious hook.

"Victim of The Times" is the track I keep listening too. The effects on the vocals and the jazz influence make this an interesting song to listen to again and again.

Some of the non standard features, like the trippy parts of "Stumped" and the folk fueled "Toe The Line" give this album depth.

Jonny Rumble swimmingly succeed on the non standard rock fair on this album in the songs "Stumped" ," Toe The Line", "Victim of The Times". In these songs there is a wider range of influence than on the more straight ahead rock tracks. The production is good and the harmonies, when they are utilized work really well like on "Toe The Line".

I have seen Jonny Rumble play live and they are a self assured bunch that work well off one another. They have totally committed to their sound and their is a big payoff of this when you see them live. They have quite a few dates coming this summer. Check them out.

Thanks to August from Novo and also Casey from Rock Proper. Of course to the band as well. I have met them a couple of times at their shows and they are a blast to hang out with.

Now that I have had one show under my belt, the details leading up to this show have gone swimmingly. I am in an unique position to have my blog sponsor the shows at The Chopin. I don't know of any other blogs that sponsor shows. For this I am proud, and grateful to everyone who helps these shows come about. From the owners of the Chopin Theatre to the great bands that perform to my sounding board (Wife Kathy). Thanks to August Forte and Kevin Cornell from Novo Entertainment. Also another special thanks to designer Brian Fitzgerald for creating another great image for the show poster above. Contact him at brifitz3@gmail.com. if you'd like to know more about his work.

The bands for this weeks show have a varied sound. Anjru is a singer-songwriter who doesn't fit into any one category. His music has a dream like quality as well as some psychedelic influences as well. I have listened to his album Strange Dreams quite a bit. It's a free legal download HERE. Thanks to Brendan Losch for telling me about Anjru.

Welcome To Ashley were brought to my attention by August from Novo, who kindly invited me out to see Welcome To Ashley last Dec. The band was tight and energetic. They are indie rock with a touch of Americana. Lead singer Coley's emotive delivery is commanding. This band lives to play live, and it shows in their performance . I took video of a song.

The Juliets are a band I found on bandcamp. They remind me a lot of early 80's indie pop from abroad (think Crowded House). They differ in their full sound with their strings section. I was originally entranced by the swell of music but quickly fell in love with the lyrics.

You can name your price for the Juliet download and the Welcome To Ashley album is a free download. Just click on them. Please come on out to the show. I will have another play-list of music to play at the show that has been featured on this blog as well as the blogs facebook page. A completely unique music experience could be all yours if you join us on Saturday. Thanks.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://theblissfieldadrian.bandcamp.com/album/metropolitain-deluxe-edition"&amp;amp;gt;Intro/Answers From the Left Hemisphere...Questions From the Right by The Blissfield Adrian&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

Pop. Experimental. Good! This hit me right away. They join Chicago's rather large canon of musicians making interesting pop music. (Yawn, Maps&Atlases, Cast Spells, Netherfriends). This is a name your price download.

Friday, June 4, 2010

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://sdudleymusic.bandcamp.com/album/l-e-n-s"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Eyes Open by Sam Dudley&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Definitely inspired by Thom Yorke, which is a good thing on this album. The back story on this you can read at Sam's bandcamp page. I love that you still come across theme albums on places like bandcamp.